Lock and Key
by Smarty D
Summary: When Frau joined the Sky Pirates he didn't think things like this would follow. Uncovering the past, recognizing abilities, newly formed enemies, friends, losses, and a blooming love, how is one suppose to cope with all this? Teito x Frau, Lab X Castor, (later couples come in later) AU fic.
1. The beginning

**Hello everyone in the 07ghost fandom. :3 Nice to meet you; I am obviously not a regular here, but I am not a greenhorn at writing fanfiction or any stories for that matter. Bear with me as I get you through the hardest chapter of any writer's story. The first.**

**Lock and Key**

It just HAD to be one of those days.

Ya 'know those days where you expect everything to go smoothly but turn out to be just the opposite. Yes, that's the kind of day Frau Birkin is having at the moment. The blond haired boy is now trying to steer a hawkzile in winds far too strong to be normal for even the worst of weather. The icy water droplets completely blinding his vision, like someone was pouring paint from the clouds, instead of the snow. He could not go above the clouds either, to escape the whiteout, because the wind seems to be blowing vertical on him somehow.

_I know Guido said that Raggs has unnatural weather but this is ridiculous! I can't feel my hands, feet, face, or anything for that matter, and the hawkzile is almost encased in ice!_

" _A simple scouting mission he says. Just don't go past the mountains he says"_

_Damn it Guido, I thought you said the storm wouldn't hit until tomorrow!_

_Ok Frau, calm down. Just need to find a place to wait out the storm, then you can chip off the ice on the hawkzile and get back to the others. That is if I could actually see! Everywhere I turn, all I see it white, white, white!_

_**Rumble, rumble, clink, click, click, clink**_

_Crap. There goes the engine. Ok Frau, just keep your hands on the handles and you'll be fine, just got to pull up before the thing nose-dives too close to the ground and the air pocket before you hit the now should break the fall enough for you to jump off and not get blown up by the hawkzile combusting from impact._

_Great._

The hawkzile dived quickly in the snow filled air, the weight of its passenger and the ice encompassing it made it a fast decent. Down and down it went, quickly it became less than three hundred feet until impact into the snowy ground. Frau pulled up and the cushion of air beneath the hawkzile gave him a mere millisecond to leap off the machine before it hit the snow drifts. Frau was thrown into a snowdrift about fifteen feet away, frostbite and hypothermia already settling in from his flight_._

"_No..I can't just die here…I have to get back to the others."_

_Frau tried to get up but his body rejected his mind's plea as it was already shutting down._

"_D-damn it…D-d-damn it all…"_

Shaking and shivering he lay prone to the elements in the snowdrift, young face turning blue and purple as were his extremities. Even the warm clothing he wore did not save him from the frigid temperatures. But as he lay there, mind shutting down, he could dully hear voices. But quickly dismissed it was his mind playing tricks on him and finally surrendered into the dark, cold embrace of sleep.

**o0o**

_**Warmth.**_

That was the first thought Frau had as he awoke in a warmly furnished room and bed.

_What the?_

The young blond sat up quickly in a large bed, layered with ornate blankets and colors. A fireplace burned brightly and strongly in the right corner near the foot of the bed. The walls were decorated with richly colored red and gold. He kicked off the blankets and moved to sit at the edge of the bed when he noticed that his hands and feet were wrapped with bandages and he was dressed in black silken nightshirt and pants.

_How did I get here? Where is here? I was on a scouting mission…the storm came out of nowhere and surrounded me…I couldn't find my way back, and then the engine failed. Then I landed in a snowdrift. How did I get here from the middle of the Raggs Kingdom? Am I dead and this is the afterlife or somethin?_

The door, some feet away from the bed, suddenly opened, rousing the blond boy from his thoughts. There stood a man in white bishop's clothing, though it was on the tattered side. The man was tall, his hair a strange mix of pale yellow and white with a tint of pale green. The man did not appear over thirty but his face was riddled with signs of stress that a man his age should not have.

"Oi! Who the hell are you?" Frau shouted as he jumped off the bed and took up a fighting stance. Only to wince and falter as pain shot through him as his fists and feet screamed in pain. The strange man caught him before he hit the ground.

"My name is Fea Kreuz; I'm a bishop of the Barsburg Church. My small party of travelers who I am with came across you passed out in a blizzard. Might I ask what a boy as young as you, was doing out in such a storm?"

Fea helped Frau back into a sitting position on the bed, sitting in a wooden chair placed next to the bed. Frau examined the damage done to his hands as well as he could with the bandages covering them. He had probably gotten frostbite in the storm.

"Frau Birkin. Part of the Sky Pirates. The storm hit while I was flying, my engine failed." He informed the man as he experimentally bended his fingers.

"You said the group you are with found me. Why were you out in such a storm? And why would a bishop be so far away from the Church?" Frau's blue eyes piercing the other's as he asked.

If Frau was less experienced with reading people as he was, he may have not noticed the small flicker in the other's gray blue eyes. A small flicker of panic, or perhaps it was fear, danced behind Kreuz's eyes before he covered it up with an excuse.

"My group was caught up in the storm like you, though we were traveling on foot and dressed warmer. I am leading a group of soldiers of Raggs to the Church, despite the military being not religious, a good portion of the soldiers are, both Raggs and Barsburg's armies."

_Lies._

But Frau didn't call out on the man's lie. He did not need to know this man's intentions or why he was out in the storm unless it came down to Frau's own survival or something associated with the Sky Pirates. Speaking of which, how was he going to contact Guido and the others…

The door opened and closed very sharply as Frau pondered. Looking up from his bandaged hands, he saw a young boy, a little younger than himself.

The boy had hazel brown hair, peach colored skin, his eyes were the most stunning shade of emerald green Frau had ever seen. He was on the thin side but not too much as to show his bones. Or at least Frau hoped they weren't showing as the boy was wearing a thick white cloak with a navy blue edging. He was about a head shorter then Frau. His face though, was marred by a blank expression and the stunning emerald eyes held no spark that everyone that had life in them had. The only ones Frau had ever seen that had no spark were the eyes either of the dead or the eyes of those who had given up hope on life. Not the eyes that belonged to a young boy.

Though Frau had no room to talk, his own eyes had looked like that once upon a time…

Fea stood abruptly from his chair in alarm.

"Ti-Teito!(*) What are you doing up at this hour young one? Why are the others not with you?" Fea walked over to the boy, Teito, rather quickly.

"I wanted to make sure that he had not died." The brunette said in a monotone voice. It sounded robotic, forced even. The movement of the boy's eyes were sluggish, as were his words.

The man sighed and patted the top of the emerald eyed boy's head.

"Go back to bed Teito, the others will worry if they see you missing."

Teito looked down at the carpeted floor for a moment before asking in that damned monotone voice.

"Just a moment Uncle(*), please?"

Fea seemed to freeze for a moment before smiling widely, but it did not reach his tired grey eyes.

"Of course."

And with that the man left, leaving the two young boys alone.

The younger still had his eyes looking down at the carpet before looking up at Frau's sapphire blue eyes. He walked forward slowly, before reaching the chair that Fea was sitting in not even a minute beforehand, and sat down in it. He reached his tiny hands forwards towards Frau.

Frau tensed and shifted slightly away from the boy.

"I won't hurt you. I just want to check on your hands. They received the most damage from the frostbite. While your feet only received a first degree, you hands received a second hand degree of frostbite. They need more attention if you want them to heal quickly and return to the Sky Pirates." The green jewel eyed boy stated, still in that voice that lacked any emotion.

Frau blinked widely in surprise.

"How did you-"

"The doors and walls are thin."

Frau doubted that explanation; he knew how to pick up on someone's presence from Guido and the others. It was part of his training. This boy, even now, did not seem to have a presence.

_But, EVERONE has a presence, even if they were dead. This kid isn't normal!_

Teito grasped Frau's left hand softly, but firmly as he unwound the bandages. Frau managed to stop a gasp of surprise from leaving his lips only at the last second as he saw the condition of his hand.

The frostbite only affected his fingers mainly, but they were a sickening combination of black, red, and white. Most people who Frau had seen with their extremities like this usually ended up losing at least a finger or two.

Teito kept Frau's fingers placed lightly on his right hand as he fiddled around in the white cloak he wore. His free hand came out of his cloak which held a small vial of a transparent green gel(*). Teito brought the vial to his mouth and took the cork between his teeth and pulled. The cork came out with a soft "pop" and Teito dropped it into his lap.

The brunette then dribbled the substance lightly over Frau's discolored fingers. Then he held the bottle by the neck between his teeth as he used his free hand to gently smooth the gel over frostbitten fingers. The gel felt cool and soothing to Frau's aching and pain laden fingers. The boy then wrapped the injury back up with a fresh roll of bandages he produced from his cloak as well.

The boy repeated this with Frau's other hand before re-corking the half used vial and storing it and the bandages back into his cloak. During all of this neither boy had spoken a word.

"Um, thanks, Teito right?" Frau inquired.

"Yes. I apologize for this but it will take at least two more days for your fingers to heal. You should be able to walk tomorrow." And with that he got up to leave.

Frau, though, thought of something at the very last moment, before the door shut behind the boy.

"You can't be part of the military, why are you with the group?" Frau asked remembering the Bishop's cover story.

The boy simply stared at the blond for a while, his eyes blank, but an every so slight flicker of remembrance. But with that came a sliver of fear and a bit of pain. The boy's eyes took upon a far off look and seemed to be lost in thought. His right hand reached up and touched, ever so lightly the base of his neck, while the other hand was placed on the right hand's wrist and smoothed over it. As if making sure something was gone. Then the boy abruptly left, slamming the door shut.

Frau watched the door for a while, waiting for someone to barge in. But no one did, and after a while Frau got tired of staring at the damn door, and laid back down to get some sleep. Unaware of the events set spiraling into motion by the blizzard.

**o0o**

The next time Frau awoke, it was because of a large amount of water dousing him. Shaking his hair and using his bandaged hands to move his blond locks out of his face he peered up at the face of the culprit.

It was Guido. (*)

The man towered over Frau, his dark hair still slicked back, his left arm held a presumably empty bucket over his shoulder, cigarette hanging out of his mouth and wearing the long black trench coat.

"Sup, brat?"

Frau could _feel_ his blood boiling beneath his skin.

"You send me on a stupid "scouting mission" that almost kills me because of a freak blizzard! I get rescued by chance by a group of travelers and get frostbite," He held up his bandaged hands, "and all _you_ have to say is "Sup, brat?".

Guido seemed to ponder for a moment looking towards the ceiling before he plopped a fist into his other open hand.

"Oh yeah."

The black haired man then flicked Frau between the eyes, and then proceeded to put him in a head lock while rubbing his knuckles against the boy's skull.

"This is for abandoning the hawkzile you brat!"

"I almost died and you are worried about the hawkzile!"

"The hawkzile had a chip in it. When it crashes the chip goes off sending a signal to all our other hawkzile. We would have found you but the "travelers" found ya first. But it is probably good that they found you first since you didn't wear enough layers to prevent frostbite!" Guido pointed at Frau's bandaged hands and feet.

"It was the same amount of clothing I wear back on the island(*) during the winter!" Frau put up a feeble excuse.

"Yeah well there is a big difference between there in the winter and Raggs in the middle of blizzard season!" Guido then sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

Frau fiddled with the bandages on his feet that stopped at his ankles.

"Sorry."

Guido flicked him upside the head.

"Learn from your mistake."

"Yes sir."

Another flick.

"Ow! What was that one for?"

"For calling me "Sir", I ain't some old man."

Frau muttered a "sez you" under his breath and Guido pretended not to hear it.

Guido walked over to the door.

"Unravel the bandages, go take a shower and get on the hawkzile out front in thirty minutes or I'm leaving you here. Fea said your frostbite should be healed up and I have some business to attend to that I'll need you to be with me for."

And with that he shut the door.

_What is it with people and leaving me in this damn room?_

Not catching that Guido had mentioned "Fea", Frau tried bending his fingers, relieved that he could bend them without them aching with pain.

It took him a minute to unravel the bandages, but then did he realize that he had no idea how big the place outside the room was, or where the front door or bathroom was.

Great.

After Frau tested his footing-which thankfully was ok, a bit wobbly at first through- he opened the door, and was met with only two other doors on the opposite wall. To the left and right was only a painting and a vase. Both doors were equally ornate but the one on the left had a lock on it.

_Weird. That bishop made it sound like this place was huge since he said he was traveling in a group. And even if that was a lie that kid was with him, and they had to sleep somewhere…_

Frau opened the right door, revealing a small bath with a folded pile of thick winter clothing on the sink counter. Frau picked up the over coat and held it too him. It was just his size.

_Guido or…_

Frau shook his head, he learned to never look the gift horse in the mouth. Or however that saying went.

After taking a quick bath, and making sure all his extremities were indeed the right color again, which thankfully they were, he quickly got dressed in the warm clothes and went out the door he had yet to open, the one with the lock on it.

He was greeted by a frigid gust of air, that while was more bearable with the thick cloth he wore, it was still damn freezing. The snow had not let up, leaving almost everything in sight in a white blanket of snow and ice. Everything Frau could see, but Guido, who was perched on the hawkzile.

"About time!" Guido called out over the howling winds.

Frau said nothing as he climbed atop of the machine-bird combination.

As they soared through the air, just above the frost laden trees, Frau scanned the area for any dwellings that the Bishop and Teito could have resided in.

He saw none.

Perhaps the small cabin like dwelling he was in had some sort of secret room?

He tried hard not to think about it, almost as hard as he tried not to think about the emerald eyed boy. Instead he focused his attention on the snow swirling around them.

**o0o**

It had taken them a good twenty minutes to reach the large hawkzile they resided in when traveling across the skies. But as they descended Frau noticed a small group of people huddled together near the entrance to the inside of the hawkzile looking at Guido and himself.

Frau faltered as he and Guido approached the group. As they were approaching the group they reveled to be four men, two standing in front of the other two, as they moved closer in the white out. One of the men in the front was Bishop Fea Kreuz. But Frau did not see little Teito.

Guido spoke up, surprising Frau.

"Oi! Kreuz! I thank you for saving this twerp's life!" He gave a large grin.

Kreuz returned the grin with a small smile.

"Ah yes, well, I was not the one to find him. Teito did." The bishop paused and then took on a more serious and slightly saddened look.

"So you have heard about what happened with…?" The bishop trailed off.

Guido huffed and nodded.

"Not much we could have done about it. She told me what I would need to do. First stop is the Church right? Haven't been there in a while…"

Frau just looked at Guido with a questioning look as Fea nodded.

"Well twerp, you are going to have to do me a favor and babysit out newest member." Guido spoke as the Bishop and what appeared to be one of three body guards moved to the side.

"Frau, Teito Weldeschtein Raggs, the secret and only prince of Raggs, though we call him Teito Klein."

Frau stared with his mouth agape as he saw the same emerald eyed boy from before. Though Guido smirked at the kid's dumbstruck expression he continued to explain the situation.

"He was somehow abducted about fourteen months ago by sklave traders one night when his uncle," Fea nodded at this, "and a few of his body guards were traveling Raggs for a reason I am not yet allowed to reveal. They lost him for about a year, but then found him and broke him out of enslavement two months ago. But it isn't safe for him to travel alone with them anymore. But the King cannot bring him home or send out any more guards to go with him because it would draw in too much attention. So while those four travel around like they still have the Prince with them, we get to play taxi and help move the Prince from one safe place to another. He will be staying with us even for rather short periods of time. This is why I'm putting you in charge of him." Guido pointed at the blond boy.

"EH? Why me? Why not one of the others?" Frau asked animatedly. Why did he have to be in charge of the brat? He was still learning things about hawkzile and mechanics!

Guido still wore that damn smirk.  
"Let's call it punishment for crashing the hawkzile, brat."

**o0o**

**(*) You will see that Teito's real name plays a significant part in the story; but not yet. **

**(*) If you didn't know that. Sorry.**

**(*) Since Teito doesn't have healing zaiphon I would presume that either one of the guards, Fea, or someone gave home that if he were to ever get frostbite**

**(*) Guido: Young Frau's mentor/father figure. He isn't an OC he is in 07ghost's manga**

**(*) Frau is from an island that had two names: Eden and F-31 I will refer to it by both names**

**(not noted but I'm putting it here anyway; Sky Pirates; I just capitalize it to make it sound like a group name instead of a generalized one. So I will probably make other Sky Pirate groups; just a forewarning; no major OC in them though! I will only have one minor character OC because no one fits the profile I need for that character. That comes muuuuuuuuuuch later though. So a character fitting that profile may pop up while the manga updates. So yeah. Ja Ne~!)**


	2. The questions arise

Frau lay in his bed, it was just after dusk and the sky was dark, the ever present snow still falling. The airship was exiting the Raggs kingdom and was headed towards the Barsburg church, but since they were in the middle of Raggs territory, with the harsh snow storm still, it was taking much longer to get out of the kingdom. He had shown Teito the basic layout of the ship and then showed him a spare bedchamber that he could use. He had only nodded his head in thanks, and then closed the door in Frau's face. That was about four hours ago, and he has yet to hear from the other boy since.

Not that he cared or anything.

**o0o**

It was a few days after Teito had been brought on the airship, and Frau was now practicing his zaiphon in a clearing they had landed in to defrost the engines from the ice that had formed on them. It would take a day or so to get all the ice fully chipped off the ship, and the rest to melt, but no real damage had been done. They were close to the edge of Raggs's boarders, another day of flying and they would be at the Church, where they would drop off their passenger. But why the hell were the Sky Pirates demoted to chaperoning around a prince? That was the royal guard's job or something.

He threw a ring of zaiphon at a tied up pile of frosted twigs. They shattered instantly with contact with the attacking zaiphon. But the ring of zaiphon continued its path as it made its way through another seven bundles of branches. Guido had instructed him to practice his zaiphon whenever he had time to. It was a man's best weapon. Unlike guns, swords, or knives which you had to carry on you zaiphon was a weapon you could call upon under any circumstances and you had an unlimited amount of it at your disposal. There was just one problem…

"You're not going to get anywhere in your training if you keep on recycling the same words brat." Guido called out to him from the side of the landed hawkzile.

Frau sighed. The more words you used in a zaiphon and the more meaning behind them, the greater the power. But Frau had a slight problem with accumulating the right words together. His sentences he did succeed in stringing together were generally short. Such as "Cut in half" or "Disintegrate this object". While they were quick to make and had a punch to them they were easily deflected by quick thinking zaiphon users.

But Frau also had another issue, his zaiphon lacked the zest and emotion most people had when battling others or healing others. Frau blamed it on the lack of adrenaline flowing through him since he was just cutting down branches and not defending himself. Guido had told him to image the foliage piles as enemies, but that was a ridiculous idea, one that little kids used. Like them imagining they were solders, knights, kings, princesses, or something like that. And Frau was _not _a kid.

Unfortunately, for Frau, Guido threw a bucket at him while the boy was turned with his arms crossed, lost in his angered thoughts. The momentum from the bucket hitting his cranium caused Frau to land face first into a snow mound. He shot back up quickly yelling profusely at Guido while holding the back of his head.

"Go get some water brat. Our drinking supply needs to be rationed and we need some to boil to get some of this ice out of the crevices of the gears and wires of the hawkzile. Clear you head while you're at it, you're melting the snow around ya' with all the hot air coming out of yer mouth." He waved his hand at Frau with a little "shoo"-ing motion as he looked over the inside of the hawkzile with one of the mechanics.

Frau swore that he would kill the man in his sleep or something. Still, he hauled the large tin bucket and walked towards the tree line. There was a small stream that was not completely frozen over not too far ahead. It was visible from the hawkzile before they had landed. When he reached the icy stream he simply lowered the bucket into the stream on its side to collect the slow steam of water. Once it had reached full capacity Frau turned it upright. But there was a _slight problem_. While the bucket was very lightweight, it was very wide and deep. And now it now held about eleven gallons of water.

Not something a eleven year old can exactly carry with ease.

_Oh you have got to be kidding me._

Not wanting to tarnish his pride by going back to Guido and asking for help or emptying the bucket and making a second trip Frau did what any normal boy would do in this situation.

Attempting and failing to get the heavy back to the ship and not look like an idiot.

Frau was able to lift the bucket out of the stream but it took all of his strength to keep the bucket from spilling onto the ground as he shakily took sloppy steps back. Then there was another pair of hands on the handle of the bucket, this pair much smaller than Frau's.

Sapphire met emeralds.

"Aren't you suppose to be locked up in your room?"

The prince ignored him and put his small hands on the underside of the bucket, Frau doing the same. It was easier to carry than his initial attempt.

They had gotten half way back to the hawkzile when suddenly there was a sharp cracking sound and suddenly one of the large frozen trees was falling right above them. The tree limb was enormous, most of its shadow was cast over Teito as it fell.

Adrenaline pumped through Frau's veins and he felt like he wasn't even controlling his hand as it flowed zaiphon towards the tree branch, shattering into small insignificant, and more importantly, harmless particles as the pieces fell like snow. The rest of the zaiphon impacted into the snow. Frau noticed dully that he had dropped his end of the bucket and he was now drenched in frigid water. But he was not concerned with that, his attention was drawn to what was written in the snow.

…**tect what is most dear to me from harm. Do take him away from me just yet, we have merely begun again.**

Frau had no idea why those words were used, he had not through about using them in a zaiphon, it was like someone else and used zaiphon in his own body.

But before he could ponder any more he was suddenly thrown into the snow by something.

Or to be more specific, someone.

He turned, after spitting out _another _face full of snow. Teito was on top of him, but was looking, in fear, at a large pair of floating bone like wings.

Kor.

Guido had mentioned about them, though he warned Frau more than anything. They would grant you three wishes in exchange for your soul, but the price was greater than any three wishes. You would be shunned from heaven's doors forever. But Guido had told him that they no longer existed, after the Great War against Verloren and a corrupted ghost. The story told that after the soon-to-be-King-of-Raggs had gone to Seele and Verloren was removed from Pandora's Box, the Kor disappeared with him.

So why was there one hovering closer and closer to them now?

"**Ah, a nice pair of pure souls. My master would have been pleased with you. But I'm sure I will enjoy you just as much. Tell me, what is your wish?"**

Before Frau could hurl a ball of zaiphon at the thing, it was cut in half quickly by _something. _The thing screamed before it dissipated. Then there stood a young woman dressed in heavy black fabric, her long violet hair framing her face.

"Oh I really do hate those things. I thought this life would be void of them. Ah well." The woman sighed as she held a large scythe in her hands.

Frau and Teito merely blinked at the strange woman. Where had she come from? How did she kill the Kor with a scythe?

The woman seemed to register that she was being watched and turned violet eyes towards the duo. When she saw them a wide smile was stretched across her face and the scythe disappeared into thin air. She ran up to them and picked them up hugging them tightly.

"Oh hello you two! Oh I have not seen you in so long! Oh! And you both are still such cuties in this life too!"

Frau looked over at Teito to see if he knew this woman, but he looked equally confused.

"Excuse me miss, but who are you?" Frau asked as they were being spun around.

The woman stopped spinning and blinked.

"Oh yes, I should have introduced myself. Oh…" She seemed distraught suddenly as she placed them back down on their feet. She held a finger to her lips as she thought.

"Well, you guys can call me Profe. You don't remember me because the last time I saw you was a very long time ago…" Profe had a very distant look in her eyes.

"Actually I did not think I would ever see you again. But things happen don't they?" She asked cheerily.

The two young boys simply nodded their heads, still confused.

"Profe!" Two voices called from behind the boys. And all three pairs of eyes looked towards the source of the voices.

Fea and Guido were walking towards them. Well, Guido was walking; Fea was running to Teito to check him for injuries. So as the Bishop scolded the youngest for running off, Guido chatted with Profe.

"I thought you were going to wait at the Church?"

"Well, I thought it would make more sense to have three watching them instead of two since you're busy as the captain and Fea has to be careful around the others. Plus I had a vision that they would be confronted by a Kor soooooo."

Guido and Fea suddenly looked grim.

"It popped out of nowhere; we were on our way here."

"And if you did not get here in time? They would have to await another life and so would our world?"

There was a silence that echoed throughout the site.

Until Guido noticed the turned over bucket that is.

"Oi, you couldn't even haul some water back to the ship?"

This fueled a very long argument between Frau and Guido.

**o0o**

It was now time for supper as Frau carried his tray of food back to his quarters, the adults had told him to as they had matters to discuss, one that he was "too young to understand". Typical. He wanted to prove to the others that he wasn't some snobby little kid. He huffed as he sat on his bed and started to eat his stew. His eyes wandered around his room as he ate. It was uniform, bed, dresser, desk, chair, a door leading to a small bathroom. Boring and uniform, but that's all he needed. He was not going to be coddled with desirables just because he was a younger than the others.

There was a knock at his door.

"It's open." Frau called from his bed placing his dinner tray on his dresser.

The young prince came in, dressed in his presumable nightwear, pale colored shirt and pants that were a bit too big.

"Eh? What'cha here for brat? Doesn't your uncle have you surrounded by your body guards or whatever after the incident this afternoon?" Frau asked. He wouldn't say, but he was still a bit shaken up by the event.

"I'm here to say thank you. I did not have the time to after Profe came." Teito spoke with quick sentences, still lacking emotion in them.

Frau scoffed, "It was just a tree branch. Plus I doubt it would have any effect against that Kor. You should be thanking Profe." Frau leaned back against the wall his bed was against.

Teito nodded his head a bit but then a small spark of emotion fluttered through his emerald green eyes as he rung his hands.

"Is there somethin' else?" Frau asked, silently enthralled in the new light in those eyes, even if it was a small amount. It was if someone had taken a dull gem and chipped off a bit of dirt off of it, revealing the glimmering beauty beneath the grime.

Gah! Now he was turning into a poet. Great.

"I, I am unfamiliar with some of the types of food the ship…um…has." Teito spoke softly, looking everywhere besides Frau's eyes.

Frau sighed and waved him over. He plucked a Clementine from his tray, he took Teito's smaller hand and placed it in his palm. The heir blinked as he felt the texture of the orange fruit. Frau grabbed a small pocket knife he kept in his boot and made a small slice on the side of the fruit.

"You can't eat the peel, just the stuff inside." Frau muttered as he took Teito's other hand in his and showed him how to take off the peel. He then divided the fruit and took one of the slices.

"These ones are seedless so you can just eat it." He demonstrated by popping one into his mouth. Teito mirrored his actions, he smiled a bit at the sweet flavor.

"So is it all the food ya' don't know or what, what did you eat in Raggs, tree bark?" Frau asked grabbing his stew, going back to eating as Teito worked on the fruit.

"Mostly the brightly colored fruit, I have had everything else before and, some of the fruits, I know since they get imported into Raggs, every once in a while." Teito told him in between bites.

"Mm."

**o0o**

While the two children ate, Guido, Profe, and Fea were seated at one of the tables in the mess hall, the other crew members had either gone to bed for the night, or back to work. Guido lazily smoked as he leaned back in his chair, Fea sat calmly, Profe stared at her apple as she munched on it.

"So…" Guido muttered as he turned his gaze from the ceiling to his companions.

"Any clue why were reincarnated to be the Seven Ghosts again, thought it was a onetime gig."

Profe stopped eating, "Perhaps we needed to remain in the game longer just as we did all those years ago, though the circumstances have changed quite a bit. Verloren is completely gone, though Kor remains. As is his scythe. Both kingdoms have been re-established, no war is going on nor is there any evidence leading to a chance of one."

Fea shrugged his shoulders, "The Chief of Heaven works in mysterious ways. Though we have not changed much, we have all died and become ghosts for different reasons than before. And our previous successors have also changed a bit. I can see that by just looking at Teito. He is still the current son of the King, but his mother is well, and my brother has not been forced to marry another because of her social status. From what I gather, Guido, your apprentice is closer in age to Teito now."

Guido made a noise of agreement. "It's annoying how we lack memory for two months from the memories as ghosts. Why are those two months blocked from our vision? Why are the seven Ghosts still here? Why were they not disbanded and put to rest? Verloren is long dead, and bishops at the Church can release people from Kor. It does not make much sense." He grumbled extinguishing the cigarette with the heel of his boot.

Silence descended over the trio.

Profe raised her head from her fruit core, "Do you think it has something to do with…"

**o0o**

It was after Frau was done explaining the different types of fruit to Teito, telling him their names, descriptions and how to eat them, he began to notice that once in a while the brunette would wince ever so slightly and wring his hands. Frau asked him if he wanted to go to the infirmary.

"N-no. I'm fine. It just happens every once in a while." Teito waved him off. "Though it is getting late, I should return to my quarters." He stood. As he opened the door to leave, he turned to Frau. "Thank you, again." Then he left.

Frau sat on his bed for a moment, pondering what he would do next as he tapped his spoon against his empty stew bowl. He could go to the mess hall and drop off his dishes and ask Guido what was up with Tei- the prince. Can't be caught calling his name, probably be a death sentence or some shit. So he grabbed his tray and walked to the mess hall.

As he was turning a corner he heard Teito and another voice, so he hid behind the corner.

"Master, I can take over until it subsides." The voice was smooth and deep, and was saturated with concern. But Frau had never heard the voice from the guards that were with Teito and that bishop.

"I'm fine Mikhail. It will go away in a minute or two anyway. I don't know why it acted up though. Perhaps it is getting worse?" Teito murmured quietly.

"It is probably just from the stress you have went through today Master. It was your first encounter with a Kor." Presumably Mikhail assured him. Then there was a set of footsteps and a door shut.

Frau looked around the corner but saw no one. But he only heard one set of footsteps. Was Teito being carried by the other? Yeah, that had to be it. And with that he meandered to the mess hall. But when he opened the door, expecting the hall to be empty by this hour, to his surprise, Guido, Profe, and Kreuz were at a table, distraught, concerned, and thoughtful looks littered their faces. He sneaked by them and tripped over a chair, un-ceremonially throwing his tray into the sink before he hit the floor.

"Oi, what are ya' doing brat?" Guido asked, leaning back in his seat.

Frau uttered a "nothing", standing up and brushing himself off.

"Does the prince have any medical problems 'r something?" He asked the trio.

The three looked at each other for a moment before Kreuz cleared his throat.

"The prince has a small condition, but it is nothing that is serious, it does not threaten his life or anything like that." Kreuz worded carefully.

Frau raised an eyebrow but nodded and left.

"…..will we tell him?"

"…..only if it becomes necessary."

**o0o**

It had been another few days until they were a few miles from the Barsburg Church, landing so their passengers wouldn't be seen walking off the Sky Pirate's ship of all things. Frau and Guido were to escort the small group; Teito, Fea, Profe and the guards.

The sight of the large church, Frau observed, left Teito gasping at the sheer size. Not that he was paying attention to the little brat or anything. It was just because he had been watching the kid when the guards or Kreuz were nowhere to be found. Which happen a lot during their stay. Some protection.

Speaking of which, he had caught Guido talking to the bishop and Profe at least twice daily and it was always in a out of the way room, where they would not be easily found or stumbled upon.

Teito, on the other hand, did not show any signs of the pain he had experienced since that day, a relief to Frau. Not that he would admit it.

As they were at the gates, Guido said his farewells to the group as Frau stood silently at his side. The group bowed as thanks in return, and then proceeded to walk along the bridge that connected the church from the district. Teito, gripping his uncle's hand, turned around and looked at Frau. His eyes were still dull, but had a small spark to them now. He didn't smile, but waved at Frau until they were too far inside the Church for him to see the blond anymore.

Frau, surprised, only managed to raise his hand and give a small wave before he lost sight of the small boy. Guido placed a hand on his head and ruffled his hair.

"Won't be the last time you see him ya 'know. Few months or so we're probably going to play taxi and get him back to the Raggs Kingdom." He told his apprentice as he walked off into the city.

"I know that!" Frau huffed and walked beside the black haired man. It wasn't like he was going to miss the brat; he had only known him for a little more than a week!

Guido made a small, "uh huh"-ing noise before telling Frau that he was going to go to the mechanics to get a few parts for the air ship.

"It'll take a few hours so go explore the city or somethin' just don't go getting lost or some crap. We're leaving tomorrow and I don't need to be looking for ya."

Frau waved him off with a "yeah, yeah" before walking down to check the street vendors. He would make it down a few streets before catching sight of something silver gleaming.

It was a small cross like object, something a bishop, priest, or some other religious person wore. But this one was different. It wasn't new, like the ones it was next to. It was very old looking, rusted in some areas, only half of it maintained its silver coloration. It had a small portion of its chain; the rest either rusted off or broke. It would not look appealing to any other person, but for some reason it called to Frau. It looked familiar, but he couldn't place why…

"Does it catch your eye?" A voice asked.

Startled, Frau shot upright, not realizing he had been examining what was left of the necklace for a good five minutes. A red haired woman wearing some sort of twisted scarf looked at him smiling. She had tattoos spiraling up her arms, cut off abruptly by her blue shirt.

"I came across that one day when I was traveling with my friends. It was just sitting there under this big tree overlooking Raggs. Only reason I saw it was because I was chasing a friend for one reason or another and slipped on ice. Fell right on it." She winked.

"I don't know why I left it on the table actually, just a memento from that day, not appealing to the eyes of customers like a piece of polished metal, ya' know." She smiled widely.

"Right, uh, sorry." Frau extended his hand to give the woman the rusted metal. But she held up her hands, refusing it.

"Nah, you look really intrigued by it. Keep it. I have too much clutter already, plus I have my memory." She tapped her head with a polished fingernail.

The blond nodded slowly and put the metal in his pocket, then reached into his other one for money. All venders wanted money no matter what, in any district.

"It's free."

"Huh?" Frau stopped rummaging for his money bag.

The cheery woman's faced turned serious for a moment.

"It's free, take it with you and hang onto it, it may become of some use to you some day."

Frau nodded, thanked the strange woman, and then walked off.

When he would walk back past that same spot later in the day the woman would be helping another customer. She would not recognize him when they made eye contact.

**o0o**

A few nights later they were flying out of district one, Frau was in his room, at his desk pondering over the little piece of metal again. It had not changed since the day the woman had given it to him. Still rusted, still worn, and bent in some areas. He had taken the chain off on it and put it in a drawer so he wouldn't lose it.

Accidentally though, after a few pokes to the outer details, the two circular curves that were attached the ends of the "t" shape simultaneously broke.

"Crap…" Frau swore picking up the two curved pieces. His eyes were drawn to the "t" piece now sitting alone on the desk.

Suddenly, and for no apparent reason, his ears began to ring as he lost feeling in his hand and dropped the curved old pieces of metal. His eyes were still fixed on the "t" piece as his vision began to blur. He felt his heart thumping in his ears as his vision went black and he hit the floor.

**o0o**

Frau's vision hazily came back into view, but his body felt like it was not his own. He did not know where he was either. His limbs were far too long and heavy to be his own. As the body he was seeing through blinked he realized he was in a sleeping bag inside of a tent. Dully he could hear a brook and a few morning birds. But he felt severely cold; he didn't feel this cold even back when he was dying in the blizzard. He also felt somewhat empty as the body shifted slowly, bones cracking into place.

"Oi! Perverted bishop!" He heard a voice call, the body turned sharply to the front of the tent.

Teito poked his head in, or what Frau presumed to be Teito if the kid had aged another ten or twelve years. The kid's face was the same, a bit less baby fat around the cheeks, but what caught Frau's attention was that the kid's eyes were so damn _lively. _He was wearing a black robe embroidered with gold at the edges. A small pink fur ball was perched on his shoulder, making some sort of sleepy noise.

"Get up, you said we would be in the next city by nightfall, we need to get going soon!" And with that he went back outside, the soft rummaging of a bag being zipped up coming from outside the fabric shelter.

Frau felt the icy body shift and sit up, yawning and scratching his head. "Damn brat, got too much energy in the morning." He groaned and stretched his arms. His voice dropped to a whisper, "Are you ready to receive what your future holds T…." His vision bleared black again.

**o0o**

Frau jolted as his eyes shot open. He leaned up from the floor he had collapsed onto. Breathing heavily he checked his head for injuries from when he fell. There were none.

_Did I faint for some reason and dream up that or…?_

He looked around the room, as if looking for an answer. The only thing that stood out was that his clock flashed the numbers 2:03am, in his face. He had been passed out for five hours. Peachy. He sat up with a groan, his side and arm would be bruised tomorrow. But there on his desk lay the broken necklace. But it now lay on an open notebook. The notebook itself was not large by any standard; it was one that could easily be shoved into a pocket or something similar. It was not Frau's; he had never seen it before. But that's not what really intrigued him, no. It was what was written beneath the "t" piece that lay across the notebook.

It was the zaiphon letter for "T", it was capitalized and underlined, after it there were five other underlined marks. But no letter filled the spaces.

The hell was going on?

**o0o**

**A/N: Hey, it's only chapter two! You're supposed to have a million questions as I try to get a plot up and running properly! Um, yeah, Profe's previous body before Labrador, I didn't feel like giving her a name so she is staying as Profe. So this should be a warning that I will make references to the manga a lot. Especially after the recent update! And hopefully the chapters will get longer. As for the other characters, they will come into play soon.(ish). ((I hope.)) Right, anyway. School still has me in an iron grip as these next few months will be absorbing all my spare time. (yay~) So I will be working on the next chapter on and off when I can. See you all next chapter! Ja ne!**


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